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56 FBI L Enforcement Bull 24
56 FBI L Enforcement Bull 24
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October 1987 25
... narcotics traffickingwas being used as a method to finance a
criminal enterprise;...the overthrow of the Government of
Honduras."
cotics traffickers appear to be largely mately $1.7 million, loaded onto the to acquire weapons. By using estab-
coincidental, resulting from the criminal merchant vessel Valhalla at Glouces- lished, operating criminal groups, the
activity and clandestine nature of both ter, MA. The weapons, including rifles, PIRA probably believes it is reducing
groups. rockets, hand grenades, and 71,000 the likelihood of having an undercover
rounds of ammunition, were later trans- agent involved.
Recent Activity ferred to the fishing trawler Marita Ann In another investigation, it initially
Two recent cases, one involving off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland. appeared that a narcotics trafficker-
the activities of the Provisional Irish Re- The Marita Ann, which was being used terrorist connection may have existed;
publican Army (PIRA) and a known nar- by the PIRA, was seized along with the however, subsequent analysis sug-
cotics trafficker and the other involving munitions by Irish authorities on Sep- gests that the activity was primarily that
the sale of narcotics to finance an as- tember 29, 1984. of a criminal enterprise being financed
sassination attempt against the Presi- Analysis suggests that Murray was by narcotics trafficking. Investigation in-
dent of Honduras, illustrate the criminal not involved with the PIRA for ideologi- dicated that Faiz J. Sikaffy, a Honduran
relationship which can develop be- cal reasons. Rather, it appears that he citizen living in Miami, FL, and several
tween narcotics traffickers and terror- was using his criminal contacts to se- other individuals, including a Honduran
ists. These two cases also illustrate that cure the weapons in order to make a general assigned to the Honduran Em-
each group used the criminal networks profit for himself. Furthermore, it ap- bassy in Santiago, Chile, were conspir-
of the other in order to fulfill their spe- pears that the only reason Murray was ing to assassinate Honduran President
cific objective. The affiliation between used by the PIRA was because of his Roberto Suazo Cordova and take over
the groups apparently was strictly that established criminal contacts. These the Govemment of Honduras. The con-
of a criminal enterprise with no ideologi- contacts provided the PIRA with access spirators were planning on selling 760
cal motives involved. to individuals who had weapons for sale pounds of cocaine, valued at more than
During September 1984, the PIRA, and were considered less likely to be $10 million, in the United States and
a militant Marxist organization com- controlled by U.S. Government then use the proceeds from the sale to
posed primarily of residents of Northern authorities. purchase explosives and weapons to
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland who The PIRA and other Irish terrorist be used in assassinating President
are committed to forcing British with- groups operating in the United States Suazo and overthrowing the Honduran
drawal from Northern Ireland and es- have had their arms acquisition net- Government.
tablishing a united 32-county demo- works penetrated and stopped by the In this case, narcotics trafficking
cratic socialist republic in Ireland, used FBI and other U.S. Government agen- was being used as a method to finance
a loose-knit criminal group based in cies a number of times in recent years. a criminal enterprise, that being the
Charlestown, MA, to attempt to acquire Usually, when attempting to acquire overthrow of the Government of Hon-
weapons and munitions. The group, weapons, Irish terrorists will use duras. The individuals involved, al-
lead by Joseph P. Murray, Jr., was in- sources, both reliable and unreliable, of though conspiring to commit what could
volved in a variety of criminal activity. trusted PIRA members. In a number of be defined as a terrorist act, were not
During April 1986, Murray and six recent cases, the FBI, after receiving in- an established terrorist group. They
other men were indicted in Federal dis- formation that known Irish terrorists were instead a group of individuals con-
trict court in Boston on charges of were attempting to purchase weapons, spiring to commit a criminal act. This
illegally exporting munitions to the Re- has been able to introduce an under- sort of activity appears to be the most
public of Ireland. Murray was also in- cover agent as an arms broker to the likely type of narco-terrorism to take
dicted on charges of importing mari- middleman and foil the operation. Con- place in the United States. That is, a
juana into the United States, although sequently, it appears that Irish terror- criminal or terrorist group financing their
this activity was unrelated to the arms ists, in an effort to prevent penetration activities through the sale of narcotics,
trafficking charges. During September by U.S. Government agencies, may be since narcotics trafficking would pro-
1984, Murray's group allegedly had 7 beginning to use established U.S. crimi- vide terrorists with the ability to raise
tons of munitions, valued at approxi- nal networks, such as the Murray gang, large amounts of cash in a relatively
short time.
October 1987 27